Safety push-put



J. P. BURKE.

SAFETY USH PIN}. APPLICATION mto APR.I6.I918.

Patented May 6, 1919.

INVENTOI? ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIGE.

JAMES P. BURKE, or STRUTHERS, onro.

SAFETY PUSH-PIN.

Application filed April 16, 1918.

commonly used for the purpose of attaching small pictures, calendars, advertising matter, printed sheets, cards or the like to relatively fixed objects such as walls, railings, window frames or the like. By the term car as used hereinafter I wish therefore to be understood as meaning to cover any relatively light object adapted to be fastened or supported by my improved device.

Among the objects of the invention is to provide a pin so designed for supporting a card in the maner indicated as to insure not only reliable service insuch support, but particularly to insure the utmostsafety to the operators fingers either before, durmg, or after the device is operated for its purose.

P More specifically stated I provide a push pin having a necessary point for projection into the supporting object, but so constructed as to provide automatically a guard to prevent the point of the pin under normal conditions from pricking the operators fingers or scratching or otherwise abrading either the operators person or his clothing or any other device.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists in the arrange ment and combination of'parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which a ,Figure 1 is a front elevation showing my device inholding position.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the lin 22 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view on the same plane as that of Fig. 2, but indicating the normal position of the safety push pin with respect to the card prior to the projection of the point through the card and into the wall or other support.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 6, 1919.

Serial No. 228,900. i

F ig. 4 is a plan View of the blank but with the point stamped therefrom prior to its formation into the preferred final form.

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional detail on the line 55 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a similar view on the line 66.

Fig. 7 is a detail perspective view indicating a modified form of the push pin.

Figs. 8 and 9 are detail perspective views indlcatlng different means for attaching the base portion of the pin to a card.

Fig. 10 is a side elevation indicating the form of invention in Fig. 9 applied to the card, the card being in section; and

Fig. 11 indicates one of the many different modified forms that may be assumed by the point of the pin.

Referring now more particularly to the first set of figures I show a push pin formed preferably of relatively thin resilient or spring metal comprising a body 15 having side edges of any desired relation to each .otherpreferably parallel and provided at or adjacent to its upper end with an'integral point 16. The lower end of the body is bent into a loop 17 which in the present instance after passing through a slot 18 formed in a card 19 may be gripped to the card adjacent to the slot by the projection of teeth 20 or the like directly into the card. As will be noted especially in Fig. 3 the formation of the body is such as to provide at or about the point 21 a fulcrum which by virtue of the gripping of the loop portion of the body upon the card preserves a definite or fixed relation to the card while the remaining or upper portion of the body has an inherent tendencydue to theresiliency of the body to bear a spaced relation to the card, the upper end of the body being spaced thereby from the card-a distance equal to about the length i of the point portion 16. It will thus be apand into the 'wall where it will be held by friction. I wish to observe at this time also that by the making of the device of metal that is sufiiciently flexible the push pin may be used to good advantage for attaching tickets to dry goods or other analogous merchandise. For this purpose the merchandise may be introduced between the body of the pin and the ticket and the point bent over directly upon the ticket or the operation may be performed as indicated in Fig. 2 and the point bent over upon the opposite side of the fabric from the ticket. The printed matter or markings upon the ticket obviouslymay be arranged on'either side as may be deemed best.

Since the device is made preferably of relatively thin metal the point 16 which is made directly therefrom requires ordinarily a certain amount of reinforcement to provide the desired rigidity especially in'the operation of the device in connection with a hard wood support for example I,'therefore, prefer to strike out of the body of the pin sufficient'stock to form the body of the point of considerable width, and then by suitable dies roll this point body into the form of a hollow cone as indicated best in Figs. 5 and 11. It, therefore has ample strength for every purpose and yet the sharp portion of the point is suiiiciently slender for penetration and bending purposes. As already indicated the point may be struck out from within the body but as indicated in Fig. 11 it may be formed at the extreme end of the body 15, the point 16 being bent downward instead of upward into right angular position with respect to the main portion of the body. I

In Fig. 7 the body 15, point 16 and loop 17 are indicated as being substantially the same in form as in the first set of figures and providing in connection with the card the same fulcrum expedient 21. Instead of the grip between the pin and the card being accomplished by means of the teeth 20 or other means engaging into the card I may pro vide a flat guard member 23 extending up from the slot 18 to a point on a level with or above the top of the body. This guard member is provided witha hole or slot 24 registering with the point 16 and so ar ranged that such point while guarded normally in the open positionof the pin by the upper end of theguard will permit the point to be projected directly through the slot and thence into the wall in practically the same manner as indicated in Fig. 2. although the card may be suspended below the point of attachment of the point 16 so as to provide for attachment of the pin through a rela tively narrow margin of the card. Obviously the manner of formation of the point 16 indicated in Fig. 11 may be embodied in the metal guard structure shown in Fig. 7 in which case the guard member will proj ect somewhat above the point or body structure. Figs. 8, 9 and 10 show various ways in which the base portion of the body may be fastened to good advantage to the card.

In Fig. 8 the body 15 is provided with two prongs 25 and 26 both struck from the same portion of the metal or more accurately with the tongue 25 struck out of the tongue 26 from the card or other guard means for the purposes already set forth. In Figs. -9 and 10 the tongue 25 isstruekout from between the two tongues 26 after these parts are passed through the slot 18 of the card 19 the fulcrum shoulders 21 being observed as before indicated. Fig. 9 indicates that form of the device in whichthe body 15 is narrower than other parts'of the devicefor the purpose of conserving weight and material.

I claim:

1. In a safety push pin, "the combination of a thin sheet metal body and a puncturing pin formed as an integral part of the body, the structure of'the pin being formed from a relatively wide portion of the body and formed into a conical rollto providea stiffening reinforcement for the pin. v

2. In a safety push pin the combination of a sheet metal body of relatively thin resilient nature, meansat one end'ofthe body to fix the same to a card with the adjacent end portion of the body lying flat against the card, the normalposition of the remainder of the body being deflected away from the plane of the card while the portion lying fiat against the card'constitutes a fulcrum, and a point structure formed adja cent to the opposite end of the body and bent atan angle thereto and'normally spanning the space between the'adjacent end of. the/body and the plane of thecard, the body being bendable, around said fulcrum point in the projection of the point across the plane of the card into a rigid support.

JAMES .P. BURKE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each,'by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, 11.0. I 

